


It's Not Gay if You Call Him Bro

by funhousefreak



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Confessions, High School AU, M/M, Max falls for Neil and doesn't know how to handle it, Slurs, friends-to-lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-12
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-12-29 02:15:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12072492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/funhousefreak/pseuds/funhousefreak
Summary: After a deep conversation, Max starts feeling weird every time he sees Neil. Disliking the feelings and unsure of what to do, he resolves to just avoid his best friend. But Neil isn't going to sit back and let it go. It's time for a confrontation.





	It's Not Gay if You Call Him Bro

**Author's Note:**

  * For [srcpcsoha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/srcpcsoha/gifts).



> Hello everyone! This is a silly little one-shot that came from a conversation between my friend Anne (srcpcsoha) and me. I hope you enjoy :P
> 
> Brief content warning for anti-trans slur and some minor sexual innuendos

“Max!”

 _Fuck_.

A spike of adrenaline surged through Max’s anxious veins and quickened his pace down the school hallway. He fast-walked towards the blue double-doors at the end of hall, the bright light of the afternoon sun shining through the window panes. The light at the end of the tunnel—how fucking poetic. His fellow apathetic students ignored him as he dashed past them, just as they always did. He was not exactly the beloved kid of the student body, especially not after he gave the class president a black eye last spring. The guy had it coming, after calling Max a tranny.

“Max!” The footsteps were getting closer; they were not letting Max escape. Max bit his lip and pressed forward, determined to avoid his pursuer at all costs.

“Hey, Neil!”

 _Oh, thank god._ Max had never been so happy to hear Harrison’s accented-voice in his life.

“Harrison, not now, I gotta—“

Max didn’t hear the rest; he was too busy high-tailing it past the last row of blue lockers and out the doors. He pressed the handle bar down hard and flung the right door open, letting it slam loudly against the wall of the school.

Max dove to the left and flattened his back against the side of the brick school. Now safely hidden, Max heaved a heavy sigh as the warmth of the fall sun enveloped him. He’d avoided Neil another day, by some miracle. He couldn’t actually believe he’d pulled that last one off. Maybe the universe was on his side, just this once. He also couldn’t believe he’d been avoiding his best friend for four days now. The situation itself was unprecedented, completely out of the blue. But he also had expected Neil to have caught him by now. After 8 years of friendship, he was essentially an expert at finding Max. But Max was also an expert in stealth after years of sneaking around his house and trespassing around school grounds and abandoned buildings. Plus, after numerous fights and confrontations, he’d gotten particularly good at avoiding people he didn’t want to see.

“Max?”

_Well, shit._

Max nervously turned his head to the right and immediately locked eyes with the last person on earth he wanted to see. Neil was giving him a quizzical look, his blue eyes staring into his soul. They never used to do that, not even when he was serious like this. Why were his eyes doing this so much lately?

“Max?” Neil repeated, clearly wanting him to speak.

Max swallowed hard as he tried to drag himself back into reality. God, why were Neil’s eyes so distracting?

“Ohhhh, hey, Neil,” Max said awkwardly, a nervous smile on his face. Neil raised a curious eyebrow at his peculiar expression.

“You wanna tell me why you’ve been avoiding me for the past week?” he asked, narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest.

“What? Me? Avoiding you? What are you talking about?” Max asked nonchalantly, trying to return to his normal apathetic tone.

“You literally just ran away from me,” Neil pointed out.

“You know I hate being at school longer than necessary.”

 “You nearly got into a wreck when you tried to drive 50 MPH out of the school parking lot yesterday after you saw me walking towards your car.”

“I was late to an appointment.”

“You yelled, ‘See you later _buddy! Pal! Bro!_ ’ at me when I left your house on Sunday. You’ve literally never said any of those words in your life.”

“I wanted to emphasize that you’re my best friend.”

“When are you going to stop with the stupid excuses and just tell me what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong! I’ve just been busy.”

“Max,” Neil said firmly. Max turned his head away from his towering friend. “What’s wrong?”

Max felt his cheeks heat up. He kept his eyes locked on the dirty sidewalk beneath his feet, studying it as if it were a fascinating specimen. There were pink and gray wads of chewed gum stuck all over it. Parts of the sidewalk were chipped or crumbling along the edges. Random strands of weave littered the grass nearby, probably a product of the last school fight. Neil’s gaze went soft, concern washing over him.

“Max?”

“I’m sorry,” Max mumbled.

Neil was taken aback. That was not the response he had been expecting. Max almost never apologized, not even to him or Nikki. “What?”

“I’m sorry. For avoiding you.”

“It’s okay, Max.” Neil sighed. “Just please, tell me what’s wrong. I’m worried about you.”

“It’s my fault. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“Nothing’s wrong with you. Just, say what’s on your mind.”

Max gulped and squeezed his eyes shut tightly. Maybe if he blocked out the world, it would all just fall away. Maybe if he pretended Neil wasn’t there, he would just disappear, even if it was just him walking away out of annoyance of Max’s childish behavior. But he was too old to believe in that nonsense, and he cared too much about Neil to treat him in such a shitty way.

“You.”

“What?”

“You. You’re what’s on my mind.”

Neil stiffened, his eyes widening in shock. “M-me?” he double-checked hesitantly.

“Yes, _you_ , you idiot,” Max confirmed, trying to put some of his usual bite back into his words.

“Why me?”

“I don’t know why!” Max cried, exacerbated. Neil could see the water beginning to prick at the corners of his piercing green eyes, a textbook symptom of Max getting overwhelmed. Neil put a gentle, reassuring hand on his shoulder, only for him to tense up. He removed it guiltily, letting it fall back to his side.

“One day, everything was fine!” Max explained, flustered. “And then you started talking about college and getting an apartment and us being roommates and cooking dinner together and getting a cat together and us…building a life together.” Max took a shaky breath, his shoulders sagging as he exhaled heavily. “And now every time I see your stupid fucking face my stomach gets all tight and I can’t breathe right.”

Neil felt his face soften as Max told his story. God, he was so naïve, wasn’t he? Usually he was the one who knew everything, sometimes even more than he should. But he wasn’t exactly accustomed to having romantic feelings.

“Max,” Neil started, a knowing smile on his face, “it’s okay.”

“I don’t like that feeling,” he stated, shoving his hands angrily into his pockets.

“I know. But, you know, those are actually good feelings.”

“Oh, yeah?” Max scoffed, finally meeting Neil’s gaze again. “What part of chest and stomach pain and feeling the need to avoid you is ‘good?”

“Wow, you really are clueless.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“Max, you like me.”

“No shit, moron. I wouldn’t have let you stick around 8 years if I didn’t like you.”

“No, not like that! You like me romantically.”

Max’s face fell, the cogs in his head turning slowly as he pieced together the puzzle. As each gear turned and the seconds passed by, his eyes gradually lit up with realization. Neil smiled softly at him, hoping it would come off as accepting and reassuring. But Max shook his head as the truth sank in, the shakes getting larger and more fervent with each passing moment. Neil’s smile faltered and a pain rang through his chest.

“No, you’re wrong,” Max protested anxiously. “I don’t _like_ anyone. I don’t do _romance_.”

“It’s okay, Max.”

“No, it’s not! I’m not supposed to fall for anybody. Especially not you!”

The pain deepened, like a knife being driven further into his chest. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re my best friend! I’m not supposed to mix that with romance!”

“It happens all the time, Max. It’s not weird.”

“Well I don’t want any part of it!” he declared, throwing his hands in the air. Neil noticed as they came back to Max’s sides that they were shaking.

“Max, take a deep breath.” For once in his life, his stubborn friend did as instructed. He took a deep breath, held it briefly, and finally pushed the air out several seconds later. “Max, I’m sorry if what I said made you feel weird or overwhelmed you. But this doesn’t have to be a bad thing.”

“Oh, yeah?” Max asked skeptically.

“Yeah. Because…I like you back.”

Max stared at him with the intensity of a cat preparing to pounce on its pretty. Neil tried to keep up his warm grin, but the butterflies anxiously awaiting Max’s response were getting to him.

“You,” Max started hesitantly, “like me?”

“Yeah. Why do you think I said all that shit last weekend?”

“I thought…you were just being a friend.”

“I mean, I guess I was. But only because I thought you’d never like me back. Especially after the weird ‘buddy, pal, bro,’ exchange.”

Max glanced away again, cheeks heating up once more in embarrassment. He hated himself so much for sounding like such an idiot that night.

“So…what? You want to kiss me and go on dates and live together and shit?”

“Ideally, yeah,” Neil shrugged. “But I know you’re not exactly…comfortable with this.”

Max nodded, his eyes looking far beyond the ground beneath him. “You’re right. I’m not okay with these fucking feelings. But…they exist, and they make me want stupid shit like that.”

“What?” Neil asked, confused. He couldn’t have heard that right. He must have missed something in that.

“God, do I have to spell it out? I want you.” Max flushed brightly as he realized the potential implications of his words. “I mean, romantically. Not in a weird way, not like—“

Neil laughed at his nervous backtracking. “It’s okay, Max. I get it.”

He put his hand back on Max’s shoulder, trying to gauge his friend’s acceptance of the gesture. Max didn’t tense this time. Instead, he hesitantly raised his own hand up to his shoulder and laid it atop Neil’s hand. Neil smiled at him, confirmation that this was all fine, that everything was fine.

“So, what sorts of things do these feelings make you want?” Neil teased, a devious look in his eyes.

“If you think that just because I like you means you’re granted an automatic in into my pants, you are painfully mistaken,” Max snapped, his normal scathing tone back.

Neil laughed, the first time he’d truly laughed all week. “That’s not what I meant, but ok. I see where your mind is.”

“I’ll show you where my mind is with a swift kick,” Max threatened, eyes narrowed in annoyance.

Neil laughed again, but took a step back from his friend…boyfriend? They could feel that one out.

“Okay, okay, point taken,” he conceded. “I gotta get going now. We’re having some bullshit family dinner tonight and I have to help set up.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow, _bro._ ”

Max’s smirk shone brighter than the sun. Neil rolled his eyes, but couldn’t hide his amused grin.

“See you tomorrow, _buddy_.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading (and indulging in my ridiculous ideas)! I hope y'all have a great week!


End file.
